Many existing industrial sites were constructed with equipment having no capability of being automatically monitored or controlled. As a result, manpower can be required to periodically, or constantly, survey the equipment of the site. This can be time consuming and/or costly.
Still other sites may operate with outdated analog monitoring and control systems requiring wiring of control signals throughout the site (e.g., 0-5 volt, 0-10 volts, 0-15 volt, 4-20 mA DC type control systems). Such approaches can require constant maintenance of wiring and wiring conduits which can also be time consuming and costly.